Esports Roundup: Valor Series, GCS, RPL, AOG, ASL, Valor Cup (September 21, 2018)

Arena of Valor esports roundup for the week ending on September 21, 2018. The Valor Series is ongoing, J Team tops the GCS, ALPHA Red heads the RPL, Team Flash is leading the AOG, the ASL is underway, and the Valor Cup qualifiers are nearly complete.

Overview

Nearly every region is in the thick of AIC qualifiers, each big-money league undergoing their respective round robin regular seasons. The Valor Series completed its second week, the GCS completed week 5, the RPL finished week 5, the AOG finished week 4, the ASL began (and finished week 2), and the Valor Cup national qualifiers continue this weekend.

Valor Series Week 2 Recap

The Valor Series is ongoing, each region (North America, South America, and Europe) having completed their second week of matches last weekend. Both the European and Latin American regions are in flux, while North America has begun to establish a more clear hierarchy.

Europe

Day 1

Team x6tence started off the weekend with a surprise game 1 victory over established favorites Bubble Team, completely controlling the flow from the mid-game onward. Then Bubble Team allowed x6tence to draft the same Cresht-Marja-Slimz backbone that caused so many problems in the first game – and to expected disastrous results. x6tence led from start to finish in game 2, completing the “upset” and causing all observers to question the true power hierarchy of the European region.

After a solid 2-0 win in week 1 over x6tence, Team Queso was looking to continue their strong play against region favorites Nova eSports. Through nearly 20 minutes, Team Queso played Nova to a draw, but a few critical errors in the late game (and some lackluster Jinnar play from Ruiz, in this writer’s opinion) led to their downfall. Game 2 was a completely different story, as Vex’s unmatched Murad play was the driving force behind Nova dominating throughout.

Day 2

Team x6tence looked to build on their strong play on day 1 as they faced Alliance to start day 2. They did just that in game 1, ChikitinST once again leading the way with his strong support play, this time on Mina. In game 2, Alliance had one of the more peculiar drafts of the young season, selecting both Tulen and Raz and sending Tulen to the side lane. In addition, Valhein was chosen not for the solo-lane role he’s thrived in lately but instead for the jungle. In the end, though, Rezz’s dominance of the Dark Slayer lane was the key as Alliance tied up the series 1-1.

The battle of first-place Dead Rabbits and theoretical region favorites Nova went to the Spanish side in game 1. Dead Rabbits went for their “death ball” composition, Jinnar and Peura fueling team fights and making it impossible for Nova to contend with. Nova countered in game 2, stealing Jinnar away and busting up the potential death ball by selecting Cresht for his powerful Metamorphosis ultimate. Dead Rabbits led a decent comeback after a disastrous early game in which they lost all their bottom-lane towers, but once 07 completed his build on Yorn it was all over.

Valor Series Season 2 Standings: Europe
Place	Team	Record	Series Played
1	Dead Rabbits	4-2	3
1	Nova Esports	4-2	3
3	x6tence	3-3	3
4	Team Queso	2-2	2
5	Alliance	2-4	3
6	Bubble Team	1-3	2

Latin America

Day 1

Day 1 started with Nova versus INTZ, and Nova drafted a beefy front line to protect their Lindis firing from the back. The result was a relatively comfortable victory, as Nova led from start to finish. INTZ stole away Jinnar in the second game and managed to secure an early lead, but Nova slowly ground INTZ down, finishing them off with ease.

Synergy opened up their series against GeO with a curious draft in which they selected both Fennik and Lindis and sent the latter to the lane. Their strategy did not pay off, as GeO eSports ran away with game 1 in just over 11 minutes. Synergy again went with an interesting composition in game 2, though this time the tactic was more clear. Drafting both Mganga and Peura made the team nigh un-killable as they rolled over GeO in every skirmish and team fight.

Day 2

INTZ attempted the same death ball composition that was working so well for the Spanish teams, drafting both Jinnar and Peura and complimenting it with Xeniel for some extra protection. Unfortunately for them, Assassins Crew walked all over them, Slimz fully countering the health-stacking Xeniel and Taara. Assassins Crew decided to show INTZ how it’s done in game 2, drafting the same Jinnar-Peura-Xeniel core and dominating INTZ, finishing in just 9 minutes.

In a matchup of top Latin American teams, Pain Gaming slowly whittled down GeO, eventually winning at the 19:30 mark after a successful steal of the Dark Slayer by MOMO on Liliana. GeO went with the curious decision to draft Zill in a side-lane role along with Krixi mid and Slimz jungle in game 2. The gamble paid off, as GeO used a few pick offs in the early game to eventually grind down Pain Gaming.

Valor Series Season 2 Standings: Latin America
Place	Team	Record	Series Played
1	Pain Gaming	4-2	3
1	GeO eSports	4-2	3
3	Nova Esports	3-1	2
4	Assassins Crew	2-4	3
4	INTZ eSports	2-4	3
6	Synergy e-Sports	1-3	2

North America

Day 1

Tehvar filled in for Allegiance on day 1, playing Cresht in both games. Game 1 saw MTS on Nakroth for the first time in a while, and Allegiance did lead in gold throughout the game, though there was a bit of a scare when McFly was successfully able to clear out all of the bottom-lane towers. MTS chose Nakroth once again in game 2, and the results were all-too-familiar, as Allegiance slowly choked out VeniVidiVici.

Attempting to recover after their unfortunate forfeit in week 1, Marauders made a statement in their debut, defeating a Toxic team that was looking to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the region. In game 1, Zane on Slimz melted any comers as Marauders snowballed things in under 12 minutes. Though game 2 was a bit more prolonged, Marauders still led throughout, showing themselves as the only true contenders to incumbent powerhouse Allegiance.

Day 2

In a battle of teams at the bottom – Kranniz only had two points because of their walkover versus Marauders – VeniVidiVici used strong play from Blitz on Slimz to secure their first victory of the season in game 1. It was more of the same in game 2: despite losing all four Abyssal Dragons, vVv dominated every team fight, and used one last flurry to take the game.

Drawn To Fame had a curious draft in game 1, going with decidedly non-meta picks Zanis, Wisp, and Aleister. Though they managed to drag out the game until the 13-minute mark, Marauders led throughout and was never in any serious danger. Game 2 featured a more standard composition from DTF, but Marauders dominated nonetheless.

Valor Series Season 2 Standings: North America
Place	Team	Record	Series Played
1	Allegiance	4-0	2
2	Marauders	4-2	3
3	Toxic	2-2	2
4	Drawn to Fame	2-4	3
5	Kranniz Esports	2-4	3
5	VeniVidiVici	2-4	3

Check out the Valor Series every weekend on the official Arena of Valor Facebook page. The match schedule can be found here.

J Team Still Dominant in GCS

J Team, Taiwan’s main representative in the AWC, remains undefeated in Taiwan’s GCS league, defeating playoff contenders ONE on September 16. Team ahq, which consists of the world champion Team Korea roster, snapped a losing streak by defeating Monster Shield.

Continuing the action and finishing up week 5, Flash Wolves predictably defeated bottom-feeders MAD, while HKA dealt another serious blow to fan favorite SMG’s playoff chances by defeating them, 2-1.

Garena Challenger Series Standings
1st	J Team	5-0 (10-1)
2nd	Flash Wolves	4-1 (8-3)
3rd	ahq e-Sports Club	3-2 (7-5)
3rd	ONE team	3-2 (7-5)
5th	Hong Kong Attitude	3-2 (6-6)
6th	MAD Team	1-4 (4-8)
6th	Still Moving Under Gunfire	1-4 (5-9)
8th	Monster Shield	0-5 (0-10)

The Garena Challenger Series (GCS) is Taiwan’s ~$104,000 league, comprising eight teams battling for four playoff spots. It can be watched in Mandarin on Garena Taiwan’s YouTube channel, or you can catch the unofficial English broadcast on DTwo’s Twitch channel.

Three Teams Separate Themselves in RoV Pro League

I (DTwo) got a more intimate look at the RoV Pro League (RPL) this week, as I began doing unofficial English broadcasts on my channel. ALPHA Red, Bazaar Gaming, and AWC finalists IT.City Bacon have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the league, both in the standings and subjectively with their play. In fact, in five best-of-3 series in week 5, they lost a total of one game. They now hold a commanding lead over the rest of the league, with the race for fourth place completely open.

RoV Pro League Standings
Place	Team	Record (Games)	Points	Series Played
1st	ALPHA Red	9-0 (18-3)	18p	9
2nd	IT.City Bacon	7-2 (14-6)	14p	9
3rd	Bazaar Gaming	6-2 (13-5)	13p	8
4th	Rex Regum Qeon Black Forest	4-5 (10-12)	10p	9
5th	EVOS Debut	2-7 (9-15)	9p	9
6th	Buriram Arctic Wolf	3-5 (8-14)	8p	8
7th	Toyota Diamond Cobra	3-6 (7-14)	7p	9
8th	Sponsor.Neolution CoolKidz	1-7 (5-15)	5p	8

The standings order is entirely based on points (games won) and not on series record.

The RoV Pro League (RPL) is Thailand’s ~$181,000 league, comprising eight teams battling for four playoff spots. You can watch the RPL on Garena RoV Thailand’s YouTube channel, or you can catch the unofficial English broadcast on DTwo’s Twitch channel.

Team Flash Overtakes Saigon Phantom in AOG

Vietnam completed two “weeks” of play in a single week, playing out two matches apiece on the 15th, 16th, 19th, and 20th. Adonis Esports scored the biggest upset of the eight series, defeating reigning champions and AWC representatives Saigon Phantom. That left the door open for Team Flash to take sole possession of first place, and they took advantage, defeating 2nd-place Overclockers, 2-1, and AA, 2-0.

Though it’s early, there seems to be a clear top four emerging, as 4th-place Adonis Esports’ only losses have been to the top two teams.

The AOG’s standings are also based on a points system:

Arena of Glory Standings
1st	Team Flash	4-0 (8-2)	8p
2nd	OverClockers	3-1 (7-3)	7p
2nd	Saigon Phantom	3-1 (7-4)	7p
4th	Adonis Esports	2-2 (6-5)	6p
5th	Box Gaming	2-2 (5-4)	5p
5th	Esports Kingdom	2-2 (5-5)	5p
7th	AA	0-4 (1-8)	1p
8th	Team Thai Nguyen	0-4 (0-8)	0p

The Arena of Glory (AOG) is Vietnam’s ~$77,000 league, comprising eight teams battling for four playoff spots. You can watch the AOG on Garena Vietnam’s YouTube channel.

Indonesia’s AOV Star League (ASL) is Underway

Indonesia’s ASL is now fully underway, having completed two “weeks” of play on the 16th and 20th. Unlike most of the other leagues, points are acquired by winning series instead of games (3 points per series). The first tiebreaker is games record, while any further ties will be broken by playing best-of-three matches.

Unlike their Thai counterparts, RRQ are in first place in this league, tied in points with Saudara e-Sports:

AoV Star League Standings
Place	Team	Record (games)	Points	Series Played
1st	Rex Regum Qeon	2-0 (4-0)	6p	2
1st	Saudara e-Sports	2-0 (4-0)	6p	2
3rd	GGWP.ID	1-0 (2-0)	3p	1
4th	Bigetron eSports	1-1 (2-2)	3p	2
5th	EVOS.AOV	0-1 (0-2)	0p	1
6th	Dunia Games	0-2 (0-4)	0p	2
6th	Headhunters	0-2 (0-4)	0p	2

The AoV Star League (ASL) is Indonesia’s ~$175,000 league, comprising seven teams battling for four playoff spots. You can watch the ASL on Garena Indonesia’s YouTube channel.

Valor Cup Representatives Nearly Decided

Philippines/Malaysia/Singapore’s Valor Cup is coming to a head, with the latter two countries having decided their representatives. Both Resurgence from Malaysia and Tamago from Singapore dominated their respective countries’ qualifiers once more, meaning they will not only advance to the Valor Cup Grand Finals, but will also represent their countries in the PVP Esports Championship. Meanwhile, Philippines’ two representatives at the Valor Cup have been decided, but the battle over who will go straight to the top and who will only receive the wild card slot will be determined on the 23rd between MaxBox Gaming and Resurgence.ClutchGuild.

The winner of the Grand Finals will be the region’s representative at the AIC.

You can watch the Valor Cup national qualifiers on the Garena AOV PH, MY & SG YouTube channel.

Road to AIC Coverage

Post-AWC Coverage

AWC Finals Recap (August 1, 2018)
AWC Semifinals and Finals Overview (July 31, 2018)
Korea Crowned World Champions after Thrilling Seven Game Finals (July 29, 2018)

Arena of Valor (AoV) Recommended Article List

▼ Popular Articles
Beginner's Guide	Hero Tier List
Hero Class Guide	Armory (Item List)

▼ Popular Articles
Beginner's Guide	Hero Tier List	Hero Class Guide	Armory (Item List)

BACK TO Arena of Valor (AoV) GUIDE

HERO

GUIDES

SG Rating

Name	Effect	Unique Passive (Special Ability)
Short Sword	Attack Damage +20	None
Dagger	Attack Speed +10%	None
Gloves	Critical Chance +12%	None
Bloodied Club	Attack Damage +10 Life Steal +8%	None
Chain hammer	Attack Damage +40	None
Cleaving Claymore	Attack Damage +80	None
Arcane hammer	Attack Damage +25 Attack Speed +15%	Speed Up: Normal attacks increase movement speed by 10%.
Tempest Blades	Attack Speed +25% Movement Speed +5%	None
Astral Spear	Attack Damage +50	Armor Pierce +60
Shuriken	Attack Speed +25%	Vital Point: Normal attacks deal additional 20 physical damage (+1 per hero level) for melee heroes and 40 physical damage (+2 per hero level) for ranged heroes.
Uriel’s Brand	Attack Damage +100 Max HP +600	Magic Guardian: When hero’s HP falls below 40%, Uriel’s Brand grants +200 magic defense and summons a Shield that absorbs (500+hero’s level*100) magic damage for 5 seconds. 75-second cooldown.
Curse of Death	Attack Damage +100 Life Steal +10%	Soul Prison: On dealing damage, reduces target’s HP regeneration by 50% for 1.5 seconds. If this is triggered by normal attacks, the duration is extended to 3 seconds.
Death Sickle	Attack Damage +60 Cooldown Speed +5%	Divine Intervention: Prevents damage from a potential killing blow, then increases movement speed by 20% for 1 second. 90-second cooldown.
Spear of Longinus	Attack Damage +80 Cooldown Speed +15% Max HP +400	Shatter: Decreases target armor by 50 on hit for 5 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.
Fafnir’s Talon	Attack Damage +60 Attack Speed +30% Life Steal +10%	Dragon’s Breath: Normal attacks deal additional damage equal to 8% of target’s current HP.
Claves Sancti	Attack Damage +90	Upon landing a critical attack, grants bonus (30 + Level*2) movement speed for 2 seconds (only for Ranged). Critical Chance +25% , Increase critical damage by 50%
Muramasa	Attack Damage +75 Cooldown Speed +10%	Armor Pierce +45%
The Beast	Attack Damage +100 Life Steal +25 (physical and magic)	None
Omni Arms	Attack Damage +70 Attack Speed +15% Life Steal +10% Cooldown Speed +10% Max HP +500	Pentapower: After using an ability, the next normal attack within 5 seconds deals 100% more physical damage. 2-second cooldown.
Slikk’s Sting	Attack Speed +35% Critical Chance +25% Movement Speed +7%	Blessing of the Wind: Increase own resistance by 35 for 2 seconds after a critical hit
Fenrir’s Tooth	Attack Damage +200	Fenrir’s Tooth: Increases all damage dealt with 30% when the target’s HP is below 50%.
Blitz Blade	Attack Damage +50 Attack Speed +35% Life Steal +10% Movement Speed +5%	Chain Lightning: Every 4 seconds, the next normal attack triggers a chain lightning that deals 102 (+7 per level) magic damage. Each normal attack also carries Life Steal and reduces cooldown by 1 second on hit.
Devil’s Handshake	Attack Speed +30% Critical Chance +20% Movement Speed +5%	Flame Wrath: Normal attacks increase attack speed by 10% for 2 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.
Rankbreaker	Attack Damage +110 Cooldown Speed +10%	Windwalk: Increases movement speed by 10% after exiting battle. Break: Increases armor pierce by 100 (+10 per level).
Spell Tome	Ability Power +40	None
Lapis Ring	Max Mana +300	None
Pendant of Faith	Mana +10 / 5 sec	None
Ancient Scriptures	Ability Power +80	None
Magic Ring	Cooldown Speed +10%	None
Enchanted Scroll	Ability Power +120	None
Trick Blade	Ability Power +60 Cooldown Speed +10%	Elemental Power: After using an ability, the next normal attack deals additional magic damage. 3-second cooldown.
Spoopy Mask	Ability Power +100	Magic Pierce +75
Phoenix Tear	Ability Power +60	From the Ashes: When the hero gains a level, 20% of HP and mana are restored over 3 seconds.
Virtue’s Bracelet	Ability Power +60 Cooldown Speed +5% Mana +20 / 5 sec	Soaring Spirit: Restores 20% mana after earning a kill or assist.
Vlad’s Impaler	Ability Power +90	Magic Life Steal +15%
Staff of Nuul	Ability Power +180 Cooldown Speed +10%	Magic Pierce +45%
Virtue’s Necklace	Ability Power +160 Cooldown Speed +10% Max Mana +300 Mana +30 / 5 sec	Soaring Spirit: Restores 20% mana after earning a kill or assist. Magic Pierce +75
Tome of the Reaper	Ability Power +240 Max HP +500	Soul Prison: On dealing damage, reduces target’s HP regeneration by 50% for 1.5 seconds. If this is triggered by normal attacks, the duration is extended to 3 seconds.
Boomstick	Ability Power +240	Explosion: Ability hits trigger a small-area explosion that deals 50 (+50% ability power) magic damage. 5-second cooldown.
Hecate’s Diadem	Ability Power +240	Warlock: Ability Power +35%